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Autumn house problems!If you need help and advice with regard to independent valuations, property surveys, building surveys, structural reports, engineers reports, specific defects report, structural surveys, home buyers reports or any other property matters please free phone 0800 298 5424 for a friendly chat.
INTRODUCTIONWe are going to look at the colder rainy weather in Autumn and the effect that we find it has on residential properties and particular their roofs walls and floors. We will consider in our experience the problems that can arise which we have seen when carrying out surveys of properties due to warmer temperature that is caused in the Autumn and trees and leaves start to fall.
SYNOPSISWe are going to look specifically at the problems and issues we have found with Autumn Weathering affected properties that we Survey. We are also going to speak more widely about experiences we have had with Autumn more generally and also going to advise you of research if any which has been in this area, i.e. Learned Institutes or Bodies such as Royal Chartered Institution of Surveyors, BRE (Building Research Establishment), we may even look at Wikipedia but we will not take it as gospel!
CONSTRUCTION SUMMARYTo give you a flavour of the property that we are going to be considering, here is the construction summary.
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As mentioned we are going to look at Autumn, we relate it back to a specific example that we have surveyed recently when someone was looking to purchase a property. This will show you just how important we think it is to have a building survey carried out. We have used the term assumed' as we have not opened up the structure.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARYExecutive summaries are always dangerous as they try and encapsulate relatively complex problems in a few precise and succinct words. Having said that here is our executive summary and recommendations: For those short of time, just like we have in our building surveys we have an Executive Summary here which identifies the main issues with a brief explanation.
What is the background to Autumn Weather?Autumn occurs between the summer and winter. As we have explained in our seasons articles we have different seasons in England because of the Earths journey around the Sun, and that it is tilted at an angle. The earth starts to tit away from the Sun by the season of September. In more detail the North Pole starts to move away from the Sun. The Sun starts to rise slowly meaning that days become shorter. The Sun reaches midpoint in the Sky and the autumn equinox' is reached, both day and night become about 12 hours each in duration. In recent years it has been discovered that higher temperatures are resulting in delayed leaf fall (Met office 2010). As a result the autumn is staying longer and as a result it is warmer or milder for a longer period, and may stay until November rather than October! In 2006 the warmest autumn was recorded since 1731! If you require any further help on Autumn please visit the following sites www. weather .org.uk , www.metcheck.com news.bbc.co.uk/ weather. One of the main problems for buildings is that autumn creates colder temperatures with rain that means leafs start to fall from trees in a big way. It creates blockages in roofs walls and floors and even drains which affects the passage of water away from the building. Most of the roofs walls and floors that are most likely to be affected by Autumn are for residential buildings even commercial.
Autumn What does it mean to residential buildings?One of the key implications of autumn leaves start to accumulate in roofs and gutters they can prevent water passage flowing freely along the slopes of roofs toward gutters. This can lead to blockages and a fungus such as moss start to appear on roofs and gutters which create blockages and allows moisture to penetrate through tiny voids within the structure such as within mortar joints to bricks. It is also a problem around flat roofs that are asphalt in material and have gutters to their sides. Similarly to higher level roofs debris from trees and leaves gets blocked in there and causes problems. A building needs to breath at all times and this process is prevented. Similarly air bricks that are used to ventilate your floors can start to become blocked by leaves in the autumn. Without this ventilation dampness can become increased in your floors. One more thing about leaves they can block drains gulleys and manholes if they want! Therefore foul water and surface water won't have anywhere to go and may cause penetration or soil erosion around your property which could cause further problems. Secondly a type of flower called Japanese Knotweed can develop typically during March August and develop into October. They vary and are different types and sizes. They are not very pretty and can be damaging to ground conditions. There are also insurance considerations that may take place during the Autumn. We have seen that properties can start to flood during this time of the year which means that water can find its way into ground floor suspended timber floors for example and cause rot to floors and skirting.
Defects we have seen while surveying properties in AutumnTypical of the buildings we Survey during autumn and what we have seen...
Leaves in gutters
Flood damages to floors
Japanese Knotweed in gardens
We witness roofs that are high pitched or very steep on which we can see moss sitting into roofs and gutters causing moisture to enter via gaps in roof tiling such as the concrete type. Alternatively we find the moss starts to look unattractive and it causes blockages in guttering that is plastic in material and starts to come away from its positioning or alignment. This can occur for guttering of flat roofs for example.
How to solve these problemsIn our experience the problems of colder temperatures in autumn that do occur have never been severe enough for us to recommend that a roof tiles gutters air bricks drains are completely replaced! Indeed one gutter we looked at could use preventative measures for leaves building rather than repair or replacement, and realigning gutters. Certainly this is far better than the proposal to use alternative roof tiles and replacing the guttering and downpipes! The biggest problems surrounding autumn is the additional capacity that tree debris and leafs cause in gutters and roofs as well as blockages elsewhere such as to air bricks and drains. This leads to deterioration in roofs guttering and dampness issues. We also feel that the dampness in buildings can increase spread to timber decay meaning that extensive monitoring is required.
Time Line A brief history of how roofs walls guttering floors air bricks and drains have changed over the years
INSPECTIONWe would carry out two different types of inspection for autumn effects on roofs and other parts of the building. Firstly we would do a visual inspection both externally and internally. Secondly, we could check with a damp meter to establish the condition of the walls from the inside. This is really where wet rot occurs caused by the moisture of the autumn. We can also check for moisture in floor joists using thermal imaging and or a similar damp test. We would also carry out a visual check of foundations walls and floors.
SURVEY FINDINGSThe sort of things we have found when looking at damage caused by colder temperatures in the Autumn are:
• Leafs and rain overloading the capacity of gutters and down pipes therefore forcing them out of position. This occurs more with PVC guttering more than other types such as Cast Iron. • The problem of leaves load settling on roofs blocking gutters such as box type in Georgian properties causing dampness to upper floors and rot and decay eventually.
• Air bricks that provide ventilation being blocked by Autumn Winter leaves preventing a dry out of moisture in floors.
• Drains and gulleys which take moisture away from buildings becoming blocked leading to build up of moisture which can travel and penetrate back into a building.
• Floor joists become damp and wet due to flooding which is possible during the Autumn especially due to the change of climate we are having. Insurance claims are made which are in some cases handled well and others not. Moisture penetrates brick work and floor joists.
SUMMARY UPON REFLECTIONA few final thoughts on autumn on properties: If you do carry out an inspection yourself do remember that accessing higher areas of the building can make inspection very difficult and dangerous to enter voids in floors and upper areas of buildings. It is virtually impossible to tell of these kinds of matters from ground levels. You also need to look at other p roblems that could occur in the timber after the autumn weather goes away such as woodworm, wet rot and dry rot and this will require extensive monitoring afterwards. Also the effects of heave will require extensive monitoring after.
Independent Chartered SurveyorsIf you truly do want an independent expert opinion from a chartered surveyor, and many of us are also chartered builders, with regard to valuations, mortgages, mortgage companies, surveys, building surveys, structural reports/engineers reports/specific defects report, structural surveys, home buyers reports or any other property matters please contact 0800 298 5424 for a chartered surveyor to give you a call back.
Commercial PropertyIf you have a commercial property, whether it is freehold or leasehold then sooner or later you may get involved with dilapidation claims. You may wish to look at our Dilapidations Website at www.DilapsHelp.com and for Disputes go to our Disputes Help site www.DisputesHelp.com .
We hope you found the article of use and if you have any experiences that you feel should be added to this article that would benefit others, or you feel that some of the information that we have put is wrong then please do not hesitate to contact us (we are only human). The contents of the web site are for general information only and are not intended to be relied upon for specific or general decisions. Appropriate independent professional advice should be paid for before making such a decision.
All rights are reserved the contents of the web site is not to be reproduced or transmitted in any form in whole or part without the express written permission of www.1stAssociated.co.uk
ReferencesBBC news (2001) Autumn trees leave it late. Evening Standard (20006) Met office predicts hottest Autumn for 300 years . Flat roof mastic asphalt Isurve The independent (2007) The big debate the consequences of changing seasons. Identification of Japanese Knotweed Isurve Insurance premiums Isurve Met office (2010) www.metoffice .co.uk Telegraph (2008) Best Autumn colours on trees for years. Wikipedia (2010) Definitions of autumn.
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